M (Filipino Cultural Dictionary)

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Madamo. [Tagalog damo, or grass.] 1.A person with thick body hair. 2.A lady with bushy pubic area 3.Literally, a lot with overgrown grasses, shrubs, or thickets.

Magkono [Visayas & Mindanao]. Known as the hardest wood in the country, this ironwood, scientifically known as Xanthostemon verdugonianus Naves, is informally called also as bakal na kahoy. It is used for saltwater pilings, tool handles, bowling balls, dumbbells, paperweights, boat hulls and as stern bushing on propellers, pulleys, pulley sheaves, bearings, rollers and seaguide blocks.

Malapapaya. [Quezon Prov.] 1.See bonliw.

Malas. [ Spanish mata, for bad or sickly.] 1.Bad luck. 2.Wicked fortune.

Maldita. [Spanish maldita, wicked, cursed.] 1.A female spoiled brat. 2.A girl who is characteristically pesky and annoying. 3.A darned woman.

Malong. [Mindanao] 1.A straight tube- like garment used as sleep wrap. 2.A mainly Muslim garment that can either be used as mat, blanket or mosquito net.

Mambulawan [Camarines Norte] Started in October 2001, this festival celebrates the legend of Apolinario delos Reyes or Dona Ponay, an 18th century pioneer of the Jose Ma. Panganiban, a goldmining town. During the occasion streets are decorated with gold, and the costumes used in the fluvial procession and street dances similarly gilded.

Mambunog. [Mt. Province] A native priest who prays before an animal is slaughtered to be cooked.

Mami. [ From Ma Mon Lok and mi, the Chinese word for noodle.] 1.The original Chipese hot-noodles-in-Manila wasn't mami. It was bami, which consisted of ba (pork) and mi (noodles). But in 1918, a Cantonese immigrant named Ma Mon Luk begap peddling noodle soul' laden with strips of chicken, costing from 5 to 30 centavOsper serving which overnight as an instant hit became mami. 2.From Ma Mon Luk, a Cantonese immigrant who popularized the dish in Chinatown in 1918.

Manananggot. [Visayas] 1.Gatherer of coconut sap for use in making the tuba wine. 2.Also known as mananggiti.

Manchuria. [Bantayan Island]. See hulbot-hulbot.

Maneho. [Spanish manejo,horsemanship.] 1.To drive a car. 2.To manipulate.

Mangangarit. [Quezon] 1.A coco climber whose main work is to collect the coconut sap for use in the production of distilled wine, or lambanog. 2. In Visayas, it is the equivalent of the manananggot, or tuba gatherer, who uses the coconut sap in producing tuba, a local coconut wine popularly drunk in Mindanao and Visayas regions.

Manibela. [Spanish manivela,crankshaft (the main rotating shaft in an automotive engine)-not 'steering wheel,' which is the volante in Spanish.] 1. A steering wheel.

Mangayon. 1.A month-long festivity celebrated in Albay and is considered the crowning glory of all Bicol carnivals. 2. Derived from the local tale Daragang Magayon. 3.A Bicol legend about a beautiful princess whose uncle, Magayon, was very possessive and was very protective of her niece from any suitors. One day an unnamed warrior would storm the royal chamber, enticed the lady and eloped with her.

Manggahan. An annual festival observed annually in Guimaras Province. First held on May 22, 1993, it pays homage to the province's most important produce, the mango.

Manghihilot. [Visayan] 1.A local massage therapist. 2.An experienced but untrained masseur who assists a pregnant woman in delivering a baby. 3.A physical therapist that was a breach when delivered. 4.A chiropractor.

Mang Tomas. 1.The famous Mang Tomas lechon pioneered by Tomas de los Reyes in La Loma, Quezon City in the late 1950s.2.A popular roast pig sauce brand.

Mansip-ok [Baguio] A diviner.

Marayaw [Oriental Mindoro]. A sacred, indigenous healing ritual performed by an elder, or the balaunan. Through singing, an illness is usually seen in the form of an animal. Crushed ginger, which is later thrown away to frighten the bad.spirit that is believed brought the disease, is rubbed on the affected part of the body while blowing air through it.

Marzipan. [Pampanga] 1.Cashew nougats.

Metrosexual [English, frommetropolitan andhomosexual! heterosexual] First coined by British writern Mark Simpson in the early '90s, it refers to straight men who know and care about fashion, food and good grooming. Milyon. [Spanish millon, which, in turn, derives from the Latin mille, 'thousand.'] 1. A figure derived by adding up 1,000 thousands. 2.A theoretical term used by some economists as the boundary line between poverty and affluence.

Mindoro. 1.From the Spanish mina de oro, 'gold mine.' 2.A province in southwestern Luzon.

Moro-moro. [Filipino] 1.The drama musical featuring Moors and Christians as protagonists. 2. A make-believe act designed to fool or appease another party. 3.A fish variety known in Tagalog as galunggong.

Muklo. [Visayan slang] 1.A pejorative term referring to any Muslim who is abusive.

Mumbaki. [Ifugao] 1.A native priest that performs a ritual at a gathering with lfugao men on the granary. 2.A tribal harvest cleric that administers the offering of butchered pig as offering to Kabunian, an lfugao god. 3.A native high priest that narrates the hunting myth of brothers Balituk and Kabigat up to the building of the first rice fields.

Mumbakol [Ifugao]. 1.Highest of all the high priests.